Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsoe
View Similar Items
Dieter Rams 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsoe
About the Item
- Creator:Dieter Rams (Designer),Vitsoe (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 78.5 in (199.39 cm)Width: 72.5 in (184.15 cm)Depth: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: ST264 B21stDibs: LU922415732481
Dieter Rams
German industrial designer Dieter Rams is revered for the pared-down, intuitive electronics and consumer goods he created for Braun — where he worked from 1955 to 1997, most of that time as chief design officer — and his timeless furniture for Vitsœ, a company with which he continues to collaborate today.
Less well known are Rams’s longstanding focus on sustainability and uneasy relationship with contemporary technology, even as Silicon Valley designers like Apple’s Jonathan Ive follow in his rational footsteps.
During Germany’s postwar rebuilding period, Rams and his team of designers at Braun, inspired by the Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design, focused on extreme simplicity and usability while conceiving products with a modern, forward-looking appearance.
Among Rams’s most iconic designs is the SK 4 phonograph and radio, created in 1956, which had a compact white metal case topped by a revolutionary-at-the-time transparent Plexiglas lid that revealed simple gray controls inside (it was nicknamed Snow White’s Coffin). But it is the T3 portable radio, from 1958, that gets design aficionados most excited today: A white rectangular box with a perforated square for the speaker and a circular-dial control, it bears an unmistakable resemblance to Apple’s original iPod. (Many people also note that the iPhone’s calculator app looks remarkably similar to the Braun ET 66 calculator, with its circular color-coded buttons.)
In the late 1970s, Rams laid out his widely studied 10 principles for good design: It is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly and is as little design as possible.
One of Rams’s principles that hasn’t translated to our contemporary era is his emphasis on longevity. “The time of thoughtless design and thoughtless consumption is over,” he said in 1976, stressing the need to conserve natural resources — even as he was busy designing plastic products.
Rams has also expressed reservations about how electronics have evolved in recent decades from tools for improving life to time-sucking obsessions. “Every time he crosses a street and sees people glued to their phones, he just can’t conceive of how we got to this point,” says filmmaker Gary Hustwit, whose feature-length documentary on Rams debuted in 2018. “I think he’s a little bit saddened by all this work they did in the fifties and sixties, which had a very idealistic point of view, being a stepping stone to where we are now, and the current lust for technology.”
If digital devices sometimes seem to be making life more complicated, Rams’s precept remains the same as always: “Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Find vintage Dieter Rams furniture on 1stDibs.
- Cadovius Style Wenge Wall Mount Shelving SystemBy Poul CadoviusLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Mid-Century wenge wall-mounted shelving system in the style of Danish designer Poul Cadovius has interchangeable shelves and a cabinet mounted on metal risers. The cabinet has n...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- Wim Rietveld 663 Bookcase Cabinet for GispenBy Wim Rietveld, GispenLocated in Los Angeles, CAMid-Century, standing cabinet designed in the 1950's by Dutch designer Wim Rietveld (1924-1985) son of "De Stijl" founder Gerrit Rietveld. Manufactured by quintessential post war fur...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal
- Paul Evans Cityscape Chrome and Glass ShelfBy Paul EvansLocated in Los Angeles, CAPaul Evans Cityscape with Chrome Holders and Glass Shelf. In original condition with visible wear, consistent with age and use. New glass plate. Another available in brass.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsChrome
- Paul Evans Style Brutalist Étagère by Adrian Pearsall w/ Decorative Resin ReliefBy Adrian PearsallLocated in Los Angeles, CA1970's Brutalist Étagère by Adrian Pearsall with new smoked glass shelves and detailed resin frame. In original condition, with visible wear, includi...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsSmoked Glass, Resin
- Pair of Fritz Haller & Paul Schärer Style Etageres with Faux Marble ShelvesBy Fritz HallerLocated in Los Angeles, CAPair of vintage chrome étagères or bookshelves with faux marble shelves. There is visible scratching to the tops and some of the shelves. All over signs of wear are present, consiste...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsChrome
- Paul Evans Cityscape Brass and Glass ShelfBy Paul EvansLocated in Los Angeles, CAPaul Evans Cityscape with brass holders and glass shelf. In original condition with visible wear, consistent with age and use. Another available in chrome.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsBrass
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWModular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of four aluminium E Tracks, four shelves and one container with sliding door...Category
Antique 1660s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWModular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of two aluminium E Tracks and four shelves. Quality Features: very good...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- 606 Shelving system, Dieter Rams for VitsœBy Dieter RamsLocated in Neuss, NWArticle Details Modular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ from the 1960s. High-quality construction consisting of eight aluminum E-Tracks, eleven shelves and three contai...Category
Antique 1660s German Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsAluminum
- Studio BBPR for Olivetti 'Spazio' Shelving System in MetalBy Studio BBPRLocated in Waalwijk, NLStudio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' shelving system, lacquered steel, plastic, Italy, design 1959/60, production 1960s In 1954, Olivetti, the Italian office equipment manufacturer, ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsSteel
- Shelving Systems Designed by Bruno Mathsson for Mathsson InternationalBy Bruno MathssonLocated in Stockholm, SEShelving systems designed by Bruno Mathsson for Mathsson International, Sweden, 1960s. Pine and lacquered wood. Measu...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsWood, Pine, Lacquer
- Studio BBPR for Olivetti 'Spazio' Large Shelving System in Metal 7MBy Studio BBPRLocated in Waalwijk, NLStudio BBPR for Olivetti, 'Spazio' shelving system, lacquered steel, plastic, Italy, design 1959/60, production 1960s Large modular shelving system designed by Studio BBPR for Oliv...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsMetal